the latest in the Matilda Saga—every bit as wonderful as we'd hoped

/
the latest in the Matilda Saga—every bit as wonderful as we'd hoped

I’ve just finished this new book in the Matilda Saga. Actually, you could say I just started it too since I started it last night and finished it this morning! All of us at WTBA love this series, so imagine my delight when I spotted Facing the Flame on the shelves at Avid Reader yesterday, even though the official release date is December 1.

When Louisa saw me reading it she sighed: “It’s short.”—and added with mock exasperation: “Jackie French!” We always hope that the next Matilda Saga book will be in the 600 page realm so that we can enjoy the characters for longer.

Read More

a one-of-a-kind book of elephant sized opposites—and surprises!

/
a one-of-a-kind book of elephant sized opposites—and surprises!

a lovely book for all ages
'Opposites' books are pretty great—and not uncommon. They're wonderful for building kids' vocabularies and usually simple enough to keep even the little ones interested. Elephant Elements is a book of opposites, but it's not the common variety—more like one-of-a-kind.

Read More

imagining kindness, sharing, abundance, and equality

/
imagining kindness, sharing, abundance, and equality

ages 2 years to adult
In The Power and The Glory, Graham Greene wrote: “Hate is a lack of imagination.” Perhaps it follows that love is an abundance of imagination. There’s plenty of both to go around in the world just now, so I suppose the thing to do is notice imagination, encourage it, and let it build.

Sometimes we think of imagination as the stuff of fantasy worlds—The Lord of The Rings scaled down to everyday life, if you like. And that’s a wonderful way to imagine. But John Lennon’s Imagine reminds us that there’s more to imagination.

Read More

a movie + 3 books to delight a little dancer

/
a movie + 3 books to delight a little dancer

ages 2 to 5 years
Ivy has been obsessed with dance over the last six months—she wants to watch, read, do and live dance. It started when she saw the movie Ballerina and, although I think she might be almost ready to move on, these three books have had a good workout!

Read More

Ada Lovelace's brilliant combination of imagination, maths and science — the first computer programmer

/
Ada Lovelace's brilliant combination of imagination, maths and science — the first computer programmer

ages 5 to 10 years
......... Ada is known as the first computer programmer as a result of a paper she published with Charles Babbage—he was the official author, but the footnotes were credited to her. Well, her initials were on them anyway: 'She was afraid her work wouldn’t be taken seriously if people knew it was written by a woman.'

Her life is captivatingly told, from her early years as a child fascinated with flying, to her marriage, her friendships 

Read More

a charming and satisfying fairytale retelling

/
a charming and satisfying fairytale retelling

ages 14+ years
I have no idea how I came across The Changeling Sea—one day it was just on my bookshelf (probably purchased in one of my many book buying sprees back before kids—when my book budget was unlimited). No matter how it got there, I’m just glad it did. It’s a charmingly well written changeling fable, a classic fairytale story with a fresh and original twist. 

When Peri was fourteen, her father was lost at sea and her whole life changed—her mother was lost to heartache and she (Peri) had to take care of herself.

Read More

bouncing balloons, fizzing sidewalk paint, milk explosions—3 down, 98 to go. We LOVE this activities book!

/
bouncing balloons, fizzing sidewalk paint, milk explosions—3 down, 98 to go. We LOVE this activities book!

As you can probably tell from some of my other posts, we LOVE making/creating/experimenting at home. Besides being great fun, our crafty times educate, strengthen relationships and encourage communication and vocabulary—plus they're great for fine motor skills.

I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration and, although there are millions of activities on offer on the internet, I prefer to use books.  ..... this one is chock full of boredom busters, crafts, games and simple science—there's no end of inspiration

Read More